Pattern of Cancer in Bauchi: Report from a Departmental Cancer Registry

Abstract

Context: Cancer ranks second among the major causes of death globally. A projection by 2020 indicated that developing countries would
account for about 70% of total cancer‑related death worldwide. Despite the great threat posed by cancer to this region of the world,  reliable statistics on the trends and patterns of cancer are rare.

Aims: The aim of the study is to review the cases of cancer recorded in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2019

Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive study. Nine years records of all pathologically diagnosed cancer cases in the ATBUTH, Bauchi were retrieved, reviewed, and grouped in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology. The results were presented as simple frequency tables and charts.

Results: A total of 1284 cancer cases were diagnosed during the period, an average of 142.7 cases per annum. There was a female predominance of cancer cases (male: female ratio ‑ 1:1.53. The age range was from seven months to 95 years, with mean and median
ages of 49.6 and 50 years, respectively. More than half of the cases were reported in the fifth to seventh decades of life. Prostate (14.6%)
and non melanoma skin cancer (11.2%) were the most common cancers seen in males. In females, cancers of the cervix (37.9%) and the
breast (22.9%) were the most common.

Conclusions: Breast cancer and cancer of the uterine cervix were the most common cancers in women in this review while prostate cancer was the most common cancer in men. The need to establish a hospital‑based and/or population‑based cancer registry that will generate reliable cancer data in our environment cannot be overemphasized.

Keywords: Bauchi, breast, cancer, cervix, prostate, registry